Superman's Fortress of Solitude

Deep in the core of a mountainside in the desolate Arctic wastes lies
Superman's Fortress of Solitude, where the Man of Steel conducts
incredible experiments, keeps strange trophies, and pursues astounding
hobbies!

Carved into the rock face of an ice-covered mountain not far from the
North Pole, lies Superman Fortress of Solitude, a secret and solitary
home where Superman can relax, perform scientific experiments, and
escape, if only temporarily, the demands and distractions of the
everyday world.

Here in this secret sanctum, far from civilization, are the fabulous
trophy room, housing the hard-won memorabilia of more than a thousand
adventures; the workshop and super-laboratory, where Superman labors
in search of an antidote to kryptonite and performs other
experiments; the gymnasium and recreation facilities, where Superman
exercises, relaxes, and indulges in a variety of super-hobbies; the
interplanetary zoo, containing live species of wildlife from distant
planets; special rooms and memorials in honor of Superman's parents,
foster parents, and closest friends; the bottle city of Kandor, a city of the planet
Krypton that
was reduced to microscopic size and stolen by the space villain
Brainiac sometime prior to the death of Krypton; special monitors for
communicating with Kandor, the undersea realm of Atlantis, the
Phantom Zone, distant planets,
and alien dimensions; Superman's Superman-robots and other special equipment;
and numerous other rooms, exhibits, weapons, machines, and scientific
devices. Indeed, since the invasion of the Fortress by an outsider
could result in the placing of these devices in the hands of
evildoers - as well as endanger Superman's secret identity -
the exact location of the Fortress remains one of the world's most
closely guarded secrets.

In the texts, the Fortress of Solitude is referred to as Superman's
"mountain fortress of silence and solitude" (1958), his
"super-hideaway," and his "secret Arctic headquarters" (1964).

"Whenever Superman wants to get away from it all", notes Action
Comics Number 261, "he retires to his secret sanctuary, the
Fortress of Solitude, the most glamorous hideaway in the entire
universe!"

In Superman's words,

This is the one place where I can relax and work undisturbed! No one
suspects its existence, and no one can penetrate the solid rock out of
which it is hewn!

Here I can keep the trophies and dangerous souvenirs I've collected
from other worlds. Here I can conduct secret experiments with my
super-powers and keep souvenirs of my
best friends!"

Superman's Fortress of Solitude is not mentioned in the chronicles, at
least not by that name, until May, 1949, but its existence is
foreshadowed in a number of earlier texts.

In January 1941 a reference is made to Clark Kent's "laboratory" but
the text contains no indications of where it is located.

In July 1942, Superman completes construction of a huge "mountain
retreat" - a gigantic mansion - situated atop a remote
mountain-peak - whose ornate facade features a huge Superman
emblem patterned after the one emblazoned on his chest.
"An
excellent location for the secret citadel I recently built for
myself," thinks Superman as he flies towards his retreat,
" - but there's still some work to be done before I can
consider it completed!"

Streaking into action, Superman swarms over the structure, hands
flying like piston rods, until the mansion is completed. The
newly completed citadel features a collection of trophies of
Superman's past adventures; a fully equipped gymnasium, where Superman
indulges in acrobatics that would cause any gym enthusiast to doubt
his eyesight; and a circular running track, around which Superman
races at so great a speed there appears to be one continuous body
girdling the track!

The sanctuary, built into the side of a huge mountain, can be entered
by means of an ordinary doorway, but the Superman emblem above the
door, which is on hinges, functions as an emergency doorway, enabling
Superman to exit from his mountain hideaway at super-speed.

The Arctic Wastes

In May of 1949, the name "Fortress of Solitude" is employed for the
first time in the chronicles and, also for the first time, Superman's
sanctuary is depicted as being located in a region of ice and snow,
described only as "the polar wastes." Superman explains,
"I built it
here in the polar wastes because the intense cold keeps away
snoopers."

It is not until June 1958, nine years after the name "Fortress of
Solitude" first appears in the chronicles, that the texts introduce the
sprawling Arctic sanctuary - "situated deep in the core of a
mountainside in the desolate Arctic wastes" - on which all
subsequent renditions of the Fortress have been based.

The Fortress is three stories high and features gigantic, museumlike,
high-ceilinged rooms. The roof - which contains a huge,
electronically operated observation dome - and the walls have
been insulated, since April 1961, with a thick coating of lead to
prevent kryptonite radiation from penetrating the Fortress.

Superman added a special annex to the Fortress for Supergirl in 1962 and has shared the
Fortress with her since that time.

Entrance to the Fortress is achieved by means of a massive metal door
set into the face of the ice-encrusted rock cliff. Sheltered from
view by jutting rocks, the door is so heavy that no human on Earth
could move it an inch.

First seen in June 1958 there is, pointing toward the door from atop a nearby peak, a gigantic,
golden, arrow-shaped key that fits neatly into a matching keyhole at
the center of the massive door.

Although its primary function is to lock and unlock the massive
Fortress door, the giant key is disguised as and also serves as an
airline guidepost, its luminosity enabling it to serve as a beacon for
air traffic even at night.

In February 2006 Superman replaces the giant golden key with a key of conventional size and appearance, but composed of super-dense dwarf star material and weighing half a million tons.

Inside the Fortress of Solitude are the myriad rooms, exhibits, and
special facilities that combine to make the Fortress the world's most
incredible sanctuary.

When Superman needs exercise worthy of his super-muscles, there are
extraordinary facilities of his super-gym, where the Man of Steel can,
among other exercises, swim in a private swimming pool filled with
molten lava.

For recreation, Superman bowls in the Fortress' giant bowling alley,
filled with gigantic, oversized pins, or matches wits in a game of
super-chess with a great robot he has built as a playmate for
himself. "This robot possesses a super-electronic brain!" muses
Superman in June 1958. "He can think and play with the speed of
lightning, and plans a million moves at once! It's tough beating
him!" But Superman does beat him, in a game that's played so fast the
pieces move in a blur of speed.

Superman also records his latest adventures in his own secret diary, a
gigantic book, made of metal, which Superman inscribes with his
fingernail while hovering in midair high off the Fortress floor.

"There's no chance my diary will ever be destroyed," muses Superman in
June 1958. "The pages are made of metal and I engrave all my entries
with my fingernails! And there's no danger that anyone will ever read
these pages - I write everything in
Kryptonese, the language of
the planet on which I was born!"

Elsewhere in the Fortress is the fully equipped super-laboratory wherein
the Man of Steel performs ceaseless experiments in search of an
antidote to kryptonite, eyeglasses that will enable his X-ray vision
to penetrate lead, a safe means of enlarging the city of Kandor, and
other discoveries. To aid him in research, Superman keeps samples of
green kryptonite on hand at the Fortress. Inside a locked safe, he
keeps samples of red kryptonite, each wrapped in a protective lead
covering and labeled according to the ways in which they have, at one
time or another, affected either him, Supergirl, or
Krypto the Superdog.

The Fortress of Solitude also boasts an elaborately equipped workshop
where Superman keeps his super tool-chest, an oversized chest filled
with gigantic versions of ordinary tools, which, in Superman's words,
&quotcome in handy for super-jobs!"

Another room in the Fortress serves as the repository for the many
plaques, trophies, and other awards that have been bestowed on
Superman in the course of his career. This may be the room where
Superman has hung the special "golden certificate" awarded him by the
United Nations, empowering him to apprehend criminals in U.N. member
nations and to enter and leave those nations without a passport.
A similar certificate, conferred upon Supergirl by the U.N. in 1962,
hangs on a wall of the Fortress alongside Superman's own.

Among the most colorful areas of the Fortress are the interplanetary
zoo, housing a Kryptonian metal-eater and other live extraterrestrial
fauna, and the Hall of Interplanetary Monsters, featuring
models of fearsome extraterrestrial creatures.

Many of the rooms in the Fortress have been set aside as tributes to
Superman's friends and loved ones.

The Lois Lane room is filled with souvenirs and trophies of Superman
and Lois' past adventures together, including a lifelike wax statue of
Lois, several life-size photographs of Lois and Superman, and a lock
of Lois Lane's hair encased in glass. The room is decorated with
rare flowers and around the neck of the statue is an as-yet-incomplete
necklace of perfectly matched pearls which Superman intends as a final
gift for Lois in the event of his untimely death.

The Jimmy Olsen Room contains, among other trophies and souvenirs, a
lifelike wax statue of Jimmy Olsen and a luxurious handmade sports car
which Superman is building as a final gift for Jimmy.

The Perry White room contains a detailed scale model of Perry White's
one-story suburban home and other mementoes.

The Batman Room, also referred to as the Batman and Robin Room,
contains lifelike wax statues of Batman and Robin, as well as statues
of their alter egos, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson; trophies of past
cases Superman and Batman worked on together; an array of
superscientific criminological apparatus, including a lightning
fingerprint classifier, an electronic clue analysis machine, and a
crime probability predictor; and an ultra-sophisticated robot
detective which Superman is constructing as a final gift for
Batman. "This robot detective should help Batman," muses
Superman in 1958, "if ever I can't help him any more!" Because
an outsider who entered this room would learn Batman's and Robin's
secret identities, Superman has installed a special protective device
designed to destroy his friends' statues instantly - thereby
safeguarding their secret identities - in the event an intruder
attempts to force his way into the locked room.

The Supergirl Room, which contains a lifelike wax statue of Supergirl
and other mementoes, is similarly equipped with a protective device to
prevent an unauthorized intruder from learning the secret of her dual
identity.

The Jor-El and Lara Room, set aside as a memorial to Superman's
parents, contains lifelike wax statues of Jor-El clutching a
scientific blueprint and of Lara holding the infant Superman, and a
model of the rocket that carried the infant Superman to Earth after
Krypton exploded.

Another room in the Fortress, set aside as a memorial to Superman's
foster parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent,
features a lifelike wax tableau of Superboy and the Kents sharing a meal
together in their family home in Smallville.

To help safeguard the secret of his dual identity, Superman has also
created a Clark Kent Room, complete with a lifelike wax statue of
Clark Kent and other mementoes, modeled after the rooms in the
Fortress set aside to honor his closest friends. Clark is known to be
a friend of Superman and if some unexpected earthquake ever opened the
Fortress to a stranger, the existence of the Clark Kent Room would
help to preserve the secret of Superman's secret identity.

Among the Fortress' secret rooms, however, is a special Superman Room,
containing lifelike wax statues of Clark Kent and Superman together
with inscriptions revealing Superman's secret identity. Like the
rooms set aside in honor of Supergirl and Batman and Robin, the
Superman Room is equipped with a special explosive protective device
designed to destroy the statues and their identity-revealing
inscriptions in the event an intruder forces his way into the room.

The Krypton Room, set aside in memory of Superman's exploded native
planet, contains a scale model of Krypton
along with a 3-dimensional
tableau of the exact moment that the planet
Krypton exploded. The
tableau depicts the destruction of the planet and the escape of the
infant Superman in a tiny rocket.

Rooms are not generally set aside to memorialize the exploits of
villains, but the Fortress does contain a Brainiac Room. In it are a
lifelike wax statue of
Brainiac, a model of his space-time craft, and
an array of complex machinery identified as experiments aimed at
penetrating Brainiac's force-field.

In November 1962, Superman completes construction of a new Hall of
Enemies, filled with colorful wax busts of such infamous villains and
villainesses as Mr. Mxyzptlk, Saturn Queen, Jax-Ur, Brainiac, and Lex
Luthor.

Forbidden weapons of crimedom and other unknown, dangerous machines,
many of them confiscated by Superman from his most dangerous foes, are
also on display in the Fortress. Among them are a strange apparatus
created by Lex Luthor, designed to summon beings from the fourth
dimension; the ingenious duplicator ray with which Lex Luthor brought
Bizarro into being in July 1959; the
enlarging ray employed by the Kandorian renegade scientist Zak-Kul;
and the portable raygunlike shrinking ray that Superman once
confiscated from Brainiac.

One text refers to a room in the Fortress housing an array of
super-inventions, among them a device created by Superman whose
vibrations can shatter any known substance to dust. But it is unclear
whether this display consists solely of Superman's own inventions of
whether it also includes inventions created by others.

The largest room of the Fortress is probably the gigantic trophy room,
where the trophies of Superman's innumerable exciting adventures are
on display.

The most amazing exhibit of the Fortress is the bottle city of
Kandor, a city of the planet Krypton
which survived the destruction of its native planet as the result of
having been stolen sometime prior to the cataclysm by the space
villain Brainiac, who reduced the city to microscopic size and
preserved it, people and buildings alive and intact, inside a glass
bottle aboard his spacecraft, where it remained for many years until
it was finally recovered by Superman.

Safeguarding the city of Kandor and its lilliputian population is one
of Superman's gravest responsibilities.

To aid him in his task of defending Earth and combatting injustice
throughout the universe, Superman has equipped his Fortress with a
unique array of superscientific apparatus.

Superman's super-univac is beyond any doubt the most advanced computer
on Earth.

Elsewhere in the Fortress, a bank of sophisticated world monitor
instruments alerts Superman to emergencies and impending emergencies
around the world.

To enable him to cope with interplanetary emergencies, Superman has
equipped his Fortress with an interplanetary alarm which automatically
registers the entrance of any alien invader or space ship into Earth's
atmosphere, as well as a wall-mounted space monitor, with which he can
communicate with the inhabitants of distant worlds or observe events
on distant planets.

A special seismic map pinpoints the exact location of any atomic
explosion or other major disturbance.

The Fortress' Atlantis Monitor enables Superman to observe events in
the undersea realm of Atlantis and a sophisticated interdimensional
monitor enables him to communicate, both visually and orally, with the
inhabitants of the fifth dimension and presumably other
extradimensional worlds as well.

The Fortress also houses the Kandor-scope and other devices necessary
for communicating with the inhabitants of Kandor; the various
shrinking rays, exchange rays, and other apparatus which Superman has
employed to enable him to enter and leave the tiny city; and the
special anti-gravity shoes which any ordinary earthling must wear if
he is to walk comfortably in Kandor's alien environment.

In addition, The Fortress houses the zone-ophone and other devices
needed for observing events taking place in the
Phantom Zone and
communicating with its inhabitants; the Phantom Zone projector and
other devices needed to project individuals into the Phantom Zone or
release them from it; and the complete microfilm gallery of Phantom
Zone criminals presented to Superman by Kandorian law-enforcement
officials.

To enable Superman to broadcast important messages to the world at a
moment's notice, the Fortress is equipped with a sophisticated
super-telecaster with which the Man of Steel can black out every
television program in the world and broadcast his own announcements
over every network simultaneously. Among other instances, he has
used this device to make Supergirl's existence known to the world.

Other important apparatus housed in the Fortress includes a
super-telescope; a time-space viewer which picks up light and sound
waves from the past and thus enables one to view selected historical
events; a psycho-locator built by the scientists of Kandor, which,
through the electronic analysis and long-distance sensing of
brain-wave patterns, can locate a selected individual anywhere in
space and time; a spherical, transparent time-capsule for travelling
through space and time; and a special ray-device capable of endowing
an ordinary individual with super-powers for a period of twenty-four
hours.

Many of Superman's Super Robots - and
the special lead armor which Superman often wears when dealing with
kryptonite - are also kept at the Fortress of Solitude.

The Fortress is also equipped with various facilities with which
Superman can clean the stains off his indestructible costume. He can take a dip,
fully clothed, in his lava-filled swimming pool; take a shower beneath
the white-hot flame of a special super-blowtorch; or burn away the
dirt and grime with an ordinary acetylene torch.

Visitors to the Fortress, unless they possess super-powers of their
own, are taken wrapped in Superman's weather-proof,
indestructible cape to protect them against freezing to death in the
sub-zero Arctic cold as well as against the potentially fatal friction
caused by Superman's flight.

Because it would be calamitous if villains were to succeed in
penetrating the Fortress, a network of alarms and security devices has
been installed to safeguard Superman's sanctuary against intruders.
Booby traps of an unspecified nature have been installed inside the
lock of the massive front door, and an electric-eye beam, crossing the
door in front of the door's gigantic keyhole inside the Fortress, sets
off a super-sonic alarm audible to Superman at any distance. In
the 1970s a hidden mirage projector was installed to disguise the
Fortress' entranceway completely, creating the illusion of an
ice-covered rock cliff where, in actuality, the massive front door and
relocated giant key are situated.

In addition, the Fortress is guarded in Superman's absence by the
Superman Emergency Squad, and
explosive protective devices, installed in the Fortress' secret
rooms, will destroy any evidence of Superman's secret identity, or
those of his various super-friends, in the event an intruder attempts
to force open their doors without knowing the secret combinations of
the doors' locks.

Although the walls of the Fortress have been insulated with a thick
coating of lead to prevent kryptonite radiation from penetrating the
Fortress, Superman has installed both a kryptonite detector and a red
kryptonite detector to detect the presence of unwanted kryptonite
inside the Fortress.

A special super-fumigation system, mounted in the Fortress walls,
releases jets of antibiotic gases into the air to ensure that no
extraterrestrial microbes - carried unwittingly into the Fortress
by Superman or by any new additions to his interplanetary zoo&nbsp-
will escape the Fortress to unleash a deadly epidemic on Earth.

According to Action Comics number 261, Superman first
established secret Fortresses in outer space and at the center of the
Earth before settling on an Arctic location. This assertion is
unsupported by other texts.

Additionally, Superman established an undersea Fortress of
Solitude - hollowed out of the side of an undersea cliff -
in September 1958.
The undersea Fortress, which is reportedly located at the bottom of
the Sargasso Sea at 28 degrees North latitude, 50 degrees West
longitude, is stocked with numerous exotic ocean relics and is
equipped with sophisticated monitoring apparatus to enable Superman to
keep abreast of events occurring throughout the seven seas.
Superman later abandoned the undersea Fortress and the structure is
now used by the mer-people of Atlantis as a showplace and a tourist
attraction.